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Life After Death/Issue 28
Ike opened up the tent door, and saw Owen sitting on the floor, blankly staring at the empty aquarium in front of him. He could see the pain in his eyes. "Hey, Owen?" Ike solemnly said, only to receive nothing in response. "I just wanted to let you know that the funeral's about to start." "Okay," Owen replied. "I assume you don't want to come?" "No." "I'll miss Spike too, and I know it'll be hard for you to get over him, but you should come be with the rest of us." "I don't want to." "Well, alright. I'm not going to force you. I'll be back when it's over." ---- The group surrounded two graves in the middle of the field as the bodies of the bandits were burning in the distance. "Matt was a great guy," Ryan said. "He was a real close friend, and he was always so cheerful and optimistic. If you were having a bad day, you could just talk to him and his smile would make you feel great. We're all going to miss you, man." Ryan stepped back, and Bart hesitantly took a step forward. "Matt...was the best person I had the pleasure of knowing," he said while blankly staring at the graves. "He was both my boyfriend and my closest friend. He was always so helpful and kind, and always willing to lend a hand to people who needed it. When we first met around half a year ago, I never expected anything...like this. It was tragic...and I'm never going to forget the smile that was always on his face. I'll never forget all the things he did for me...for everyone. The world lost a great soul today, and I don't think he's gonna leave our minds anytime soon. I love you, Matt. May we meet again, someday." "I didn't get to know Matt quite like the rest of you," Ike admitted. "But I knew that he was a great guy...and he was a good friend. I know it's my fault that this whole thing happened...I should have been here...maybe...maybe Matt would still be here. Maybe Gregory...Spike...maybe they wouldn't have died. What I know is that I fucked up, and we lost two great people because of it. In the short time I knew Gregory, I could tell that he was a hell of a guy. We'll miss them both. Rest in peace." Eric then stepped forward, and cleared his throat. "I made a lot of mistakes in the past...hell, I still make a lot. And whenever I made one, Gregory was always there to make sure I knew how stupid they were. He looked out for me...just like he looked out for everyone else. He always knew just what to say when someone was feeling down. I think we can all safely say that he was like a father to us. He's never going to be forgotten." "Gregory was like a father to me," Emily said with a waver in her voice. "When I first met him...he was so kind and so...fatherly. He cared a lot about me and everyone else, and we all cared a lot about him. He was...a great man. I'm really going to miss him." Emily stepped back, and everyone stood still. It seemed as if they were all done speaking, until Dolph stepped forward. "I never really cared for Gregory," he admitted in a lifeless, monotonous tone. "He was always picking people apart, criticizing them...telling them what to do. Pissed me off. He thought he could read me...thought he knew me better than I knew myself. Everything he said...everything he did just made me hate him even more. The other day, we had an argument. I was dead set on leaving this place, and he kept holding me back. He was convinced that we'd be fine...that we'd just...be able to talk to Ike, and everything would be okay. You know how I replied? I told him he'd end up dead when those bandits came back for revenge. Have I ever wished I was wrong so badly before. They say 'you don't know what you have until it's gone', and I never really got that until now." Dolph rubbed a tear out of his eye, and continued. "As much as I'd love to disagree, Gregory was probably the one thing keeping this group together. He tried to keep the peace...tried to keep everyone calm and happy. He cared about all of us, and he tried to keep us together...alive. How ironic was that, huh?" Dolph sighed. "I regret everything I ever said to that man. All it was was hate...cruelty and hate. I was too busy taking what he said at face value...I never really thought about it. He was...the strongest, smartest, greatest man I ever knew. All he wanted was for us to survive, and that's what we're gonna do. We can't let his death be in vain." Dolph stopped talking and awkwardly looked around, before stepping back as the silence returned. ---- After the funeral, Devon went inside his tent and collapsed on the ground, with his face in his pillow. Emily entered after him, and sat beside him. "What's wrong?" she asked him. "I didn't even say anything," Devon replied. "Gregory cared so much about me...and I couldn't even man up and say two fucking words at his funeral. God, I'm such a piece of shit." "No, you're not. You aren't the only one who didn't speak." "Brie, Morgan, Andre...they weren't that close to Gregory. Hell, even Ike fucking spoke about him." "I don't think Gregory would care if you spoke at his funeral or not. He knows how much you cared about him." "Knew." "What?" "You said he knows how much I cared about him. You meant knew." "No, I meant knows." "What, you're telling me you believe in all that heaven bullshit?" "Yes, as a matter of fact, I do." "Well it doesn't exist. Neither does god, or the devil, or hell, or any of it. Religion is stupid, and you shouldn't believe in that shit." "What I believe in is my business. What the hell's the matter? This isn't like you." "What's the matter? The guy who helped me through the toughest time in my fucking life is dead. He was there for me when Leslie died, and I can't even say anything at his fucking funeral! That's the matter!" "You want to know what Gregory did for me? After my boyfriend died, I was on my own...in a giant city, just walking from place to place...by myself. These thugs...they drove up and...they tried to rape me. Gregory helped me get through all that, so stop acting like you're the only who even cares that he's gone." Devon looked at Emily for a moment, before leaning in and hugging her. "Oh god...oh my god, I'm...I'm so sorry. I-I didn't know, I-" "I forgive you. Just don't lash out like that again, promise?" "I promise. I think I need to lay down for a bit...need some time to relax." "Mind if I join you?" "Oh, uh...yeah...of course." ---- Inside the RV, Rachel was sitting on the bed, staring at the floor. The door opened, and Ike walked in. "Rachel?" he said. "Don't fucking talk to me," she replied quietly. "Look, I know that I should have been here." "No fucking shit." "Being mad at me isn't going to help." "Really? You're really going to fucking say that crap? I told you specifically not to go out there, and what do you do? You lie to my face and go out there anyway. Worst of all, you lied to the people who you took with you. How the hell are they supposed to trust us if we're lying right to their fucking face and end up getting their people killed?" "I'm sor-" "Matt. Spike. Gregory. They're all on you. And you had better fucking realize that." "I know. I feel worthless right now, and I have no idea what I'm even going to do at this point. Owen is...broken, Bart absolutely hates my guts, and I'm sure everyone in the other group despises me, now, too. You don't know how hard this is on me. I'm a piece of shit. It shouldn't have been Matt or Gregory or anyone else...it should have been me." Ike fell into Rachel's arms and started to cry. "It should have been me..." Credits * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Deaths *None Trivia *This is the second issue to not have a preview for it.